According to good test administration, no, question booklets should not be sent to a respondent by mail. This is an ethical issue and it is recommended that the tests be kept safe. This is because respondents can make copies of the test materials and distribute them out to the general public. If the general population becomes familiar with the test, then it will become invalidated. Access to test materials should only be given to qualified test administrators. Respondents should not be allowed to take test materials home and testing should never be undertaken by post. There are specific instructions which have to be followed when administering a test, and if testing is done by post, then the validity of the test decreases. Furthmore, we cannot be certain that the respondent self-administers the test in a standardised manner and this will impact upon the reliability and validity of the test.
Archive for January, 2009
Can I send test question booklets in the mail for respondents to complete?
Thursday, January 8th, 2009My respondent is dyslexic, will that affect their performance on aptitude and personality assessments?
Thursday, January 8th, 2009Respondents who need special consideration (such as a dyslexic candidate) have to be accounted for during the assessment process. Dyslexia is a learning disability whereby an individual has difficulty with written language involved with spelling and reading. It is therefore quite likely that a dyslexic respondent will display performance deficits when completing aptitude tests, especially verbal reasoning tests. It is best practice to send out an invitation letter to all respondents and ask them to advise you in advance if they have any special needs. At that time you may consider how to approach this situation. Most test publishers will NOT allow extra time for completion. This is because the test then becomes unstandardised and no longer measures what it was designed and tested to measure. A number of publishers recommend either using tests specifically designed for dyslexic people, or to ask them to undergo the same process as all respondents and interpret their results in light of the dyslexia. This may mean shifting their sten score by 1-2 points.
This issue is less material for personality assessment wherein the test in untimed. It would be appropriate to simply give as much time as is necessary (within reason) for the candidate to complete the assessment.
When administering tests in a supervised manner, how many respondents can I have in the room per administrator?
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009The ratio of a test administrator to respondents is 1:10. Therefore, 1 test administrator can administer the test to 10 people in one setting. If more than 10 respondents are present, then additional test administrators are needed. This ensures ethical requirements are met and standardization of administration is achieved. It also prevents candidates from looking at each other’s responses, talking to each other etc.
Do my staff need to be qualified to administer psychometric tests? If so, why?
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009Yes, it is necessary for anyone to be qualified when administering a psychometric test. Qualification is needed to fully understand and achieve a level of competency needed to gain the most out of the test. Specific understanding about the tests, being aware of any questions which candidates might have during the session and a development of practical skills is needed to become a competent test administrator. Understanding basic psychometric principles and the procedures required in best practise (such as preparation, introduction, and fair testing) is critical to a successful test session. Qualification through training also ensures that standardization in the testing environment is achieved. In order to understand the test’s purpose, the meaning of the test scores and how norms are used in test construction, training needs to be undertaken. The administrator should provide the candidate with accurate and fair information during the session, and this can only happen if the administrator has been properly trained.
An individual who is not qualified to administer a test will not have the basic competency in the technical issues required and will not gain the most out of the test. This will result in the test being invalid as specific instructions will not be followed and a fair comparison between candidates will become impossible.
Each test manual will contain details about administration, scoring and interpretation of a test. PsyAsia provides a one-day psychometric test administration course which provides individuals with an understanding of test administration of personality and ability tests. After the course candidates will be qualified to administer tests offered by PsyAsia. For more information regarding this course, please visit the following link: http://www.psyasia.com/psychometric_test_administration_training_course.htm
Why is standardisation of psychometric test administration important?
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009Standardisation is an agreement about the process of the test administration. Standardisation of test administration ensures that the assessment is conducted under specific conditions which can be repeated. A standardized test provides you with confidence about repeating the test in the future and ensures that all candidates are treated in the same way. It is also important because it ensures objectivity of scoring and administration conditions. It is important that all candidates are treated in the same way for ethical and comparison standards. For example, if one candidate was administered an ability test, such as the Swift Comprehension Aptitude test, in a quiet room, and another person undertook the test next to a construction site which is really noisy, then it is safe to say that individual who undertook the test in noisy conditions would be affected by the noise. Our confidence in the test scores would decrease when making a comparison. The candidate’s performance on the test could be affected because of distractions, which us why we have to be considerate about the conditions under which the test was administered.
All of the above factors will impact upon the reliability (consistency and error) of the test result. An unreliable test cannot be a valid test – it is unable to consistently predict performance. If we do not administer tests in a standardised manner, according to the publisher’s instructions, error increases, reliability decreases and therefore, validity decreases. If we allow validity to decrease, it raises the question as to why we bother to use the test in the first place!
Gender and managerial stereotypes
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009If someone has a belief about the attributes, characteristics and behaviours of members of certain groups, then they have a stereotype (Powell, Butterfield & Parents, 2002). Stereotypes can be advantageous as they are convenient to people because they allow information to be processed easily. Stereotypes can be used in organisational settings also. Previous studies have shown that a good manager is described as possessing masculine characteristics such as independence, ability to take risks, aggressive, courageous and assertive. So a disadvantage to using stereotypes is the effect it has on women in work settings because women have to deal with these stereotypes (Powell, Butterfield & Parents, 2002). Research has also shown that the managerial stereotypes are a disadvantage to women at all levels of management (Powell, 1999). Some organisations might consider that male managers are better at the job when compared to female managers. However, women in management positions are increasing and traditional female characteristics such as understanding, supporting, compassion or sensitivity are seen as important also. In the workplace, stereotypes about gender can have a negative impact such as the “glass ceiling” effects.
Organisations need to make managerial hiring decisions based upon competency and who is qualified for the job, not based upon ‘masculine characteristics.’ The common stereotypes about women are changing as the nature of the work environment is changing, but the glass ceiling still remains. This is because masculine characteristics are still highly valued in top managerial ranks and people are favoured when they act accordingly (Catalyst, 2000 cited in Powell, Butterfield & Parents, 2002). However, in order for organisations to survive, it is important to hire the right person for the job. Organisations need to be able to adapt to the needs of the market and being a good manager involves characteristics such as communication, people skills and being flexible. Reasearch into leadership also suggests that all these ideas and ways to become a good leader or manager depends on individual factors (competency), the organisation and the working styles of the employees and employers.
References
Powell, G. N. 1999. Reflections on the glass ceiling: Recent trends and future prospects. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work: 325–345. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Powell, G, N., Butterfield, D, A., Parents, J, D. (2002). Gender and Managerial Stereotypes: Have the Times Changed? Journal of Management, Vol. 28, No. 2, 177-193
Exit interviews
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009Exit interviews are useful to gather information to find out why an employee is leaving and for ways to improve working conditions. It is a conversation or an interview with the person leaving the job. It involves the employee who is leaving and the employer (or their representative, such as their manager). The employee is encouraged to be as honest as possible. Some exiting employees might not feel comfortable to carry out this interview because they might be scared about leaving a bad impression on the company, or they might be nervous to destroy any potential relationships. They might also be concerned about ruining references. Some organisations might choose to use a third party such as PsyAsia to conduct the exit interview as this relaxes the employee, and they are more honest and open in their responses.
An exit interview involves taking down any notes which might help in reducing the number of people leaving a particular job. The information obtained from the interview will help the organisation in avoiding unnecessary costs, or conflicts which could occur. The information provided during the interview is beneficial for the organisation as they can be better prepared for certain issues in the future. An employee can either request for an exit interview or can decline in taking part in it. An employee should consider how confidential the information will be before they agree to sit for an exit interview. Some common questions which are asked during an exit interview is “Why are you leaving?”; “Was there anything that you were unhappy about while you worked here?”; or “What was the most satisfying aspects of your job?”. All the questions asked relate to gathering any sort of information which might help the organisation in the future to retain an employee, attract them in the first place, or to improve working conditions.
The purpose of the interview should be explained to the departing employee and confidentiality should be assured. An exit interview should be used to help the company and should be carried out in a systematic way whereby the information can be useful.
Workplace aggression
Friday, January 2nd, 2009Workplace aggression is related to behaviours which can cause harm to another person at work. Having the intention or motivation to harm someone else is included within this behaviour. Behaviours such as bullying, physical attacks such as assault, or even gossiping and spreading rumours are some forms of workplace aggression.
Aggression can occur at the organisational level and a person might act aggressively based on factors of changes in the work environment, job changes, or injustice. If a person feels that they are not being treated fairly in comparison to others, then they could display aggressive behaviours to their co-workers or even supervisors. Changes in the workplace, such as increased stress, fatigue or anxiety can lead to aggression.
Studies have shown that some types of work are more prone to acts of aggression in the workplace than others (Douglas & Matinko, 2001). For example, if someone is in an aggressive environment such as handling guns, then they might be more prone to act in an aggressive way. Individuals are more likely to act aggressively with violence when they are in a profession which isolates them from society and where they have a strong sense of lower-class mentality (Douglas & Matinko, 2001).
However, it is very important to note that individual differences play a part in predicting workplace aggression. Research has shown that aggression can be a trait and individual behaviours are dependent on various environmental conditions. This suggests that some employees are predisposed to aggression and so they will behave in an aggressive manner without any direct fault of the organisation.
Managers should be aware of incidents which can cause aggression. They should identify and manage those people who are predisposed to aggression (within ethical limits of course). Douglas and Matinko (2000) stated that individual differences are critical to the understanding and explanation or workplace aggression.
References
Douglas, SC., Martinko, M. J., (2001). “Exploring the Role of Individual Differences in the Prediction of Workplace Aggression”. Journal of applied psychology, 86 (4), p. 547.
